Of Gingerbread Men and Box Forts
by interrupting
Summary: Things are just a tiny bit different at Daichi's annual Christmas party this year. Inspired by the prompt:"i did that annoying thing where i put loads of smaller boxes inside one big box and you're getting really mad but you don't know that the ring is in the smallest box and i can't wait to see your face"


"Noya, Tanaka, I'm surprised to see that you're on time for a change."

Daichi smiled down at the boys, their own smiles stretched wide across their faces and breath leaving their mouths in little white clouds. Despite the knitted hat tugged down low on Tanaka's head and the thick scarf wrapped around Nishinoya's neck, the pair was still plagued with a serious case of the sniffles.

"It's your annual Christmas party, we wouldn't miss this for the world!"

Daichi held his cup of hot chocolate out of the way as they bustled into his house, careful to keep from bumping into them before they spilled the burning liquid over himself and their presents.

"Hey, hey, watch where you're going you two!"

The entryway was suddenly filled with pleading as Sugawara teasingly scolded the boys for almost running him over. Daichi turned to watch them, expression softening as he stared fondly at Suga, the corner of his mouth turning upward ever so slightly at the playful glint in Suga's eyes.

Which is why he flew halfway out of his skin when a large hand settled onto his shoulder. Daichi turned to face Asahi, who no doubt had felt him jump and already had an apology on the tip of his tongue.

"Don't do it, it wasn't your fault. My attention was elsewhere." Asahi looked over Daichi's shoulder, where Sugawara was herding the two rowdy boys into the living room where Tsukishima and Yamaguchi sat, and smiled knowingly.

"Did everything go as planned?"

"Getting everything set up, yeah. All that's left is...this part." Daichi gestured vaguely to the living room with his cup of hot chocolate, a small frown settling onto his face. He couldn't help but to feel a bit anxious about this year's party, but he refused to let it ruin his mood.

Asahi squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry Daichi, everything will be fine."

Daichi sipped silently from his mug, cracking a smile as Nishinoya ran into the kitchen and back out with a handful of paper towels, no doubt for his and Tanaka's runny noses.

"Couldn't keep them out of the snow, could you Asahi?"

Asahi shook his head and smiled apologetically. "They insisted on having an impromptu snowball fight before we left the house, and you know how they get when they really want to do something."

"Or," Daichi said with a smirk, "you were just too scared to try and stop them."

He laughed as Asahi blushed up to his ears and slapped Asahi on the back, shoving him in the general direction of the living room. Asahi took the hint and moved to join everyone else as Daichi made his way to the kitchen.

Four trays of gingerbread cookies sat on the kitchen island, finally cooled and ready to be eaten after an early morning of rushed baking with Suga. Two of them were decorated normally, little gumdrop buttons and faces made out of icing in various expressions. The other two trays were decorated to look like the members of the Karasuno volleyball team that Daichi was once a proud captain of. Everyone had graduated, the once first years of the team now first years in university, but the cookies still had their high school team numbers.

Daichi's favourite cookie was Hinata's, topped with bright orange icing and posed as if he was mid-jump, legs bent and arms extended. Suga couldn't decide which one he liked best, torn between the one of Yamaguchi, with his doe eyes and freckles, and Tanaka's. They had both taken turns at drawing his "delinquent" face, and the combined effort was more comical than it was intimidating.

Daichi reached for one of the normally decorated cookies, but a sharp stinging pain made him withdraw his hand. He turned to find his assailant and came face to face with a smiling Suga.

"You know you can't start eating without everyone else."

"I can't even sneak one?" Daichi placed my mug on the counter in favour of wrapping his arms around Suga's waist. Suga snaked his arms around Daichi's neck and pulled them together until their foreheads touched.

Suga pressed a soft kiss to Daichi's lips and another to the corner of his mouth. "Patience, Daichi."

"Can you keep me occupied instead?" A blush dusted Suga's cheeks as Daichi's words ghosted over his lips. Daichi tightened his grip on Suga's waist, drawing him closer as he gazed at him with half lidded eyes. Daichi could see him warring with himself, seriously considering the proposition, but always the responsible one, he closed his eyes and turned away from Daichi.

"While I'd love to to do that," Suga said, pulling away and putting a bit of space between them, "we should get started soon. Noya's getting impatient."

Daichi glanced wistfully at the gingerbread men over Suga's shoulder. "We have to wait for Hinata to get here. And Kageyama, and Narita, Kinoshita, Ennoshita, Kiyoko, Yachi, Ukai-san and Takeda-san. Are you _sure_ you can't keep me company?"

Without waiting for an answer, Daichi turned Suga's face towards his and caught his lips in a gentle kiss. Belatedly, he heard the doorbell ring, but he wasn't letting Suga get away. Daichi pulled Suga closer, tangling a hand in his hair, absently twirling the soft locks around his fingers.

Suga kissed back passionately, lingering long enough that whoever was waiting outside rang the bell again, and then he was darting away from Daichi, rushing to the door and trying to make himself presentable at the same time.

Daichi smiled at his retreating form and picked up his mug of lukewarm chocolate, sipping slowly as he carefully walked into the living room. An excited Noya almost tackled him once he cleared the walkway, and he barely avoided spilling hot cocoa all over the both of them.

"Daichi, get this! Mamaguchi was _totally_ a thing once we left!"

* * *

"Kageyama! Hurry up and finish opening your gifts!"

"I have like, two gifts left to open. Besides, this one isn't even mine, it's yours." Kageyama shook the small box to try and guess what was inside before giving up and tossing it to Nishinoya.

Noya moved so smoothly it might as well have been a reflex. He hopped out of his spot on the couch and lunged forward, arms extended and palms up to catch his precious gift.

Ukai raised his eyebrows and took a bite out of his gingerbread man. "I see your recieves are still as flawless as ever, Noya."

He puffed out his chest with pride. "Of course they are! I may not be on the team anymore, but I'm still Karasuno's Guardian Deity! Now come one Kageyama, hurry and finish!"

"This one isn't mine, either! Someone else should sort next year." He glared halfheartedly at Nishinoya, who smiled sheepishly, and tossed the other gift to Hinata, this one traveling much faster since he was sitting on the opposite side of the room from Kageyama.

Hinata moved so smoothly it might as well have been a reflex. He popped up from his spot on the floor and took two quick steps forward, then jumped and spiked the present to the floor just before it started its descent.

Hinata froze in place once he realized what he had just done. Everyone stared blankly at the present, lying in the middle of the floor, the box crumpled from the impact. Tsukishima was the first to break the silence, unable to hold in his laugh for any longer.

"GUH! I wasn't— Out of the corner of my eye! It looked like a volleyball! I just— UWAH!" He dove for the present, blushing furiously, and tore it open, checking for any damage as the rest of the team broke out into laughter.

"At least you're still on top of your game, Hinata." Ukai's eyes crinkled at the corners as he stifled another laugh. Hinata was furiously bowing at a slightly uncomfortable Yamaguchi's feet, apologizing profusely as the other teen insisted that it wasn't a problem.

"Really Hinata, it's fine! It's still in one piece, that's what matters, right?"

After Hinata finally settled down, cradling the stuffed crow he accidentally spiked to his chest, it was finally time to continue opening gifts. Daichi gulped down a mouthful of his third cup of hot chocolate and screamed silently as the hot liquid scalded his tongue and throat.

"Last but certainly not least," Tanaka announced with a flourish, "is Suga!"

Suga blushed as everybody's attention suddenly shifted to him, and Daichi repressed the urge to squeal at how cute he looked with another gulp of hot chocolate. The first present he picked up was rectangular, decently sized, and neatly wrapped. The presentation screamed Asahi, and Suga knew it too. He glanced at a blushing Asahi, and that sealed the deal. Asahi turned cherry red every time someone opened his gifts.

Suga unwrapped the box and opened it, smiling as he pulled an oversized knit sweater a few shades lighter than his hair out of the box. "I get one of these every year. How many does this make? Six?"

Asahi blushed "Ah! I knew it was a bad idea! My mom made them for you every year, and I thought I'd try my hand at making you one this time since she was too busy and—"

"Asahi, I love it." Suga looked Asahi in the eyes and smiled. "They're all so comfy and warm." His smile turned mischievous. "I'm not too sure Daichi likes them, though. He practically rips them off of me whenever I wear them to bed."

Daichi choked on his hot chocolate, caught off guard by Suga's comment as everyone laughed. If possible, Asahi blushed even harder and busied himself with making sure Daichi didn't die. Pleased with his reaction- probably as revenge for attacking him in the kitchen- Suga folded the sweater and moved onto the next box.

With every present Suga opened- some new ties from Kiyoko, a set of CD's of his favourite band from Kinoshita and Ennoshita- Daichi's anxiety got a tiny bit worse. Suga saved his present for last, probably because it was the largest one he'd received. The box came up to Suga's waist, and had an obnoxiously large bow on top. Suga stared curiously at the box, wondering what could possibly be in something this large as he set about opening it.

Inside of the first box was one barely any smaller, and the confused furrow in between Suga's eyebrows grew deeper. By the time he had reached the fifth box, everyone else had realized what was going on and was fighting to hold in their laughter. By the tenth box, Suga had finally realized what was going on and stopped opening them to glare heatedly at Daichi. He shrugged and offered a half hearted smile, and Suga flipped him off before trying to wrestle his present out of the boxes he already opened. Tanaka and Nishinoya helped him, and started to make a fort out of the discarded boxes. Everyone was laughing openly now as Suga angrily ripped open the boxes, and Hinata and Yamaguchi moved to help Noya and Tanaka construct their box fortress.

"What the hell Daichi?!" Daichi ducked out of the way as Suga tossed one of the smaller boxes at him. "If it's some bullshit in here, or nothing at all, God so help me we are not having sex for a month!"

"Are you sure you can even last that long?"

The box he threw this time actually hit its target, and Daichi laughed as Suga attacked the boxes with a renewed fervor. Hinata placed his stuffed crow atop the finished fort and posed in front of it with the other three boys as Yachi snapped pictures on her phone. Out of spite, Suga threw one of his boxes at the fort, toppling it onto them and creating a small panic. Hinata spent the most time floundering around in the mess, screaming something about finding his " _beloved Midnight-kun before it was too late."_ Yachi got it all on camera.

"Daichi, I fucking swear if this is some kind…" Suga's voice trailed off as he opened the final cardboard box, revealing a small velvet one. He gently placed the box in his lap, eyes wide as he covered his mouth, which seemed to be stuck open. Daichi took that as his cue and walked over to Suga, settling down on one knee once he was directly in front of him.

Daichi opened his mouth to speak before he lost his nerve, but a commotion started up behind him before he got a chance to start. He turned around, face set in a stony glare, and found Hinata and Nishinoya behind him.

The pair was practically vibrating in place, clinging to each other and whispering loudly about what Daichi was about to do. They froze once they noticed his glare, then started whispering furiously about the ass-whooping they were probably going to get from him after this. Thankfully, Tanaka and Kageyama silenced the two with particularly aggressive noogies and hisses of " _Quiet, you dumbass!"_ in unison as they dragged them back to their seats. As Daichi turned to face Suga again, he noticed Asahi's and Yachi's phones pointed towards him, no doubt recording the whole ordeal. He sighed and looked back at Suga, smiling slightly when he noticed he hadn't moved an inch.

"Koushi, we've known each other for six years and dated for five, but it feels like I've been with you my entire life. You're always been by my side, whether you're holding me back from doing something rash, or running with me headfirst into something reckless. You've taken care of me when I was down, dealt with every single side of me that I've thrown at you, and even though our fights are explosive, we've always made up afterwards, and gotten stronger together as a result. " Tears rolled down Suga's cheeks, and Daichi raised a hand to brush them away as he continued. "You're my better half, my favourite part of me, and I can't imagine life without you. So I ask you this with the utmost sincerity."

Daichi took the black box out of Suga's lap and flipped it open, revealing the silver band nestled inside.

"Sugawara Koushi, will you marry me?"

Suga dove forward, knocking Daichi over as he wrapped his arms tightly around his neck. Suga's chants of " _Yes, yes, a thousand times_ _ **yes**_ _!"_ were lost to everyone in the room as they clapped and cheered, but Daichi heard them loud and clear. His heart was fluttering in his chest, and he buried my face in Suga's neck as he crushed their bodies together in a bear hug.

Daichi sat up, settling Suga into a comfortable position on his lap so he could slip the ring onto his finger. Suga stared at it, eyes twinkling with glee before turning to Daichi and cupping his face. He pulled him into a kiss, and Daichi couldn't help but smile as another round of cheering and catcalls erupted around them. He broke the kiss, still brimming with happiness and peppered Suga's face with little pecks.

"So," Daichi asked after kissing Suga's left eye, "am I still gonna be on sex probation?" He leaned over and kissed the right one, feeling it scrunch up under his lips as Suga smiled.

"Quite the opposite, Daichi. I hope you're ready." Suga pulled him into a fiery kiss, filled with promises of what was to come later tonight.

The pair broke apart, smiling shyly and gazing lovingly into one another's eyes. Suga laughed softly as he heard Nishinoya yell above them, and Daichi couldn't help but smile at his words.

"Time for the real question: Who's next?"


End file.
